When a spouse dies, does the survivor file as single in the year following death?

Qualifying Widow (or Qualifying Widower) is a filing status that allows you to retain the benefits of the Married Filing Jointly status for two years after the year of your spouse's death.

You must have a dependent child in order to file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower. In fact, the full name of this filing status is actually "Qualifying Widow(er) with a Dependent Child". If you do not meet the requirements for qualifying widower and you have not remarried then you must file as single.

For the two years after the year of your spouse's death, you can use the Qualifying Widow(er) filing status if all 5 of the following statements are true:

1. For the year in which your spouse died, you filed (or could have filed) a joint return with your spouse.
2. You did not remarry (during the two years after the year of your spouse's death). For example, your spouse died in 2017 and you do not remarry before January 1, 2020.
3. You have a child or stepchild (not a foster child) whom you are able claim as a dependent.
4. The child lived with you in your home all year, except for temporary absences. There are exceptions for birth, death, or kidnapping (see below).
5. You paid more than half the total cost of keeping up the home in which you and the child lived for the year. The total cost of keeping up a home includes food expenses, rent, mortgage interest, home insurance, real estate taxes, utilities, repairs, maintenance, and other household expenses.

If you remarried during the year, you cannot file as Qualifying Widow or Widower. Neither can you file as Qualifying Widow or Widower if you do not have a dependent child for whom you kept up a home.

what if you met all of the above except on( you can't claim your child as dependent because he is over 18

@jackard 

" you can't claim your child as dependent because he is over 18"

Being over 18 does not necessarily mean you cannot claim your child as a dependent.  18 is not a magic number.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

You are considered 'married' based upon your marital status on December 31 of the tax year.

If you were unmarried on December 31, 2021, you may file:

• Single filing status,
• Head of Household filing status or
• Qualifying Widow(er) filing status.

You may be eligible to use qualifying widow(er) as your filing status for 2 years following the year your spouse died.

Eligibility rules for Qualifying Widow(er) are:

• You were entitled to file a joint return with your spouse for the year your spouse died. It doesn't matter whether you actually filed a joint return.
• Your spouse died in 2019 or 2020 and you didn't remarry before the end of 2021.
• You have a child or stepchild whom you can claim as a dependent or could claim as a dependent except that, for 2021:
•   a. The child had gross income of $4,300 or more,
•   b. The child filed a joint return, or
•   c. You could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.

Eligibility rules for Head of Household are:

You may be able to file as Head of Household if you meet all the following requirements.

• You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. See Marital Status, earlier, and Considered Unmarried, later.
• You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
• A qualifying person lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school).

See also IRS Publication 501.

What if there are no other dependents?

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@momsbasso wrote:

What if there are no other dependents?

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For the year of the spouse's passing you can file your tax return as Married Filing Jointly.  The following year, if there are no dependents, you would file your tax return as Single if you have not remarried.

Follow the interview in the MY INFO section ... it asks for your current marital status (as of 12/31) which is now widow.  Then if you don't have any qualifying dependents to enter the program will choose the SINGLE status for you automatically.

My spouse died in 2022, before I had completed the 2021 tax return, so I e-signed his name because he was alive for 2021. IRS immediately picked up that he was deceased, so I had to refile with my name, “Executor”, and submit a death certificate as well as pages from the Will showing that I am the Executor. This delayed the refund for weeks. Everything is digital, so IRS gets notified quickly of a death.